Our modern technologically oriented society has what appears to be an insatiable demand for information. The preferred form for efficient storage and access of such information is in the memory of a computer or database. Consequently, there is an ever increasing need for word processors or data entry operators to input the large volumes of information. These workers by definition must spend many hours doing repetitive tasks in a constant sitting position. In addition to the most demanding data entry positions of telephone operators, supermarket check-out clerks and such, a growing number of white collar workers up to and including executives of large corporations are relying more and more on computer use. Furthermore, other tedious and repetitive tasks such as machine shop and assembly line work require the worker to assume a stable body position with the arms and hands manipulating tools and work pieces within a confined area.
Stationary, repetitive work may eventually lead to many different kinds of health problems, chiefly among those being any one of a number of maladies classed as "repetitive strain injures" (RSI). RSI is a cumulative condition that causes everything from persistent aches in arms and hands to crippling, career-ending pain. Every year, thousands of people must leave work because of RSI. The cost to companies in both lost productivity and worker's compensation claims is enormous. The most commonly reported RSI is a condition known as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. This condition occurs when some or all of the nine wrist tendons swell to crowd the nearby median nerve which shares space with the tendons within the carpal tunnel. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome accounts for a large portion of the occupational injuries reported each year to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Furthermore, surgery for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is the second most common surgical procedure in the nation. In addition to the more widely known Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, there has been an increase in the number of reported cases of arm tendinitis and lumbar back pain, among other ailments, caused by less than optimum work station environments.
A worker who suffers a disabling injury from such chronic physical stress can cost a company a substantial amount of money in Workman's Compensation claims. Indeed, the average Workman's Compensation claim in cases such as these is currently approximately $70,000. Even more ominous for businesses is the increasing number of personal injury suits filed by employees who claim disabling on-the-job injuries from inadequate workstation environments. In addition to this large financial risk, various government agencies are implementing new laws intended to pressure employers to provide adequate working environments to minimize such injuries. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), for example, plans to force all types of businesses to cut the risk of RSI's.
In response to these health problems, there have been numerous attempts at supporting the forearms and wrists of typists to prevent such nerve aggravation. Many offices provide simple padded supports along the front of the keyboard upon which the operator may rest his or her wrists. Unfortunately, although this helps alleviate wrist and finger fatigue, the forearm and upper body is not supported and may experience discomfort. Other solutions have provided adjustable chair arm rests for supporting the forearm during typing or other such repetitive work. Unfortunately, many office chairs do not include arm rests.
There have been several specialized apparatuses adaptable to a desk or a chair for supporting the forearm. One example is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,215,282 to Bonutti. This patent discloses an assembly which includes a pair of padded arm rests pivotably mounted on tubes attached to the underside of a desk or to a chair or chair arm. The structure supporting the arm rests is relatively lightweight and the device is intended only for supporting a short portion of a person's forearm. Further, although some pivoting adjustment is possible, and lateral movement is briefly mentioned, the total range of movement, and particularly the range of movement in a vertical direction, of any arm rest attached to the fixed height desk or chair is necessarily limited.
Another wrist and forearm support is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,905 to Hyatt. The device hangs on the front edge of a desk and has two extending support members pivotable about attachment bolts. Again, the range of motion, especially in the vertical direction, is limited and the device is not suited for supporting excessive loads. In particular, since the device hangs on the front edge of the desk and the support members extend outward from the desk in a cantilevered fashion, excessive loads on the support members could result in the device becoming detached from the front of the desk or could also result in overbalancing the desk. Such excessive loads could result from the word processor or typist resting their upper body weight on the support surfaces.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,190 to Wilson and U.S. Pat. No. 5,281,001 to Bergsten et al. show other desk- or chair-mounted forearm support systems. U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,256 to Gross and U.S. Pat. No. 5,161,760 to Terbarck show accessories for supporting the wrist and forearm in front of a keyboard. In short, there have been numerous devices designed for supporting the wrist and/or forearm, and specifically designed to prevent the type of chronic injuries common to word processors.
Unfortunately, as mentioned above, prior wrist and/or forearm supports suffer from being relatively lightweight in construction and thus unsuitable for supporting large loads. The result is that the operator cannot rest his or her entire upper body weight on the support for fear of the device or supporting desk or chair breaking. Whether consciously or not, the operator then maintains the arms in a slight state of tension with a portion of their weight supported by the shoulders and back. Many injuries occur from these repetitive tasks, farther up on the arm and beyond to the neck, back muscles and tendons as a result of supporting this portion of the weight of their arms by these muscles and tendons for extended periods of time.
Recently, with the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1992, employers are required to make workstations accessible to all employees, including the disabled. Often, persons in wheelchairs are prone to leaning heavily to one side over long periods. Prior forearm and wrist support systems are unable to provide adequate support for such heavy loads. There is thus a regulatory incentive for businesses to accommodate persons with disabilities to make their workstations ergonomically comfortable.
For some years now, there has been a need for a more sturdy workstation support and preferably one which has wider ranges of movement and provides more alternatives for the types of equipment used with it than do prior designs.